Canney, Kupec leads Hounds past Division I Fordham, 30-24 . . .
CLICK HERE to listen/watch team huddle following the win over Fordham
SPECIAL THANKS to Dr. Francesco Cesareo, President of the College, who offered his congratulations!
Assumption 30, Fordham 24
BRONX, N.Y. ---Senior quarterback
ANDREW KUPEC (Wyckoff, NJ/Indian Hills) completed
27-of-38 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns and senior wide
receiver DAVID CANNEY (Templeton, MA/Narragansett)
caught a team-record 16 passes for 163 yards leading undefeated
Assumption College past Fordham University, 30-24, in a non
conference football game here SATURDAY ay Jack Coffey Field before
a homecoming crowd of 5,135.
A Kupec four-yard touchdown pass to senior wide
receiver MARCUS NICHOLS (Salem, NJ/Salem) (6
receptions, 71 yards) with 5:41 left put the Hounds in front to
stay and a 34-yard field goal by junior placekicker BRIAN
NOWAK (Wayland, MA/Wayland) made it a six-point game with
25 seconds left.
The win gives the Greyhounds their second win
over a FSC (N.C.A.A. Division I Football Subdivision Championship)
program in three weeks . . . they beat Wagner College, 24-9,
September 11. The 4-0 start for the team is the best for the
Hounds since they opened 5-0 in 1994. This is the first
season in which the team has registered two wins over Division I
opponents.
The win is especially meaningful for Greyhounds
head coach CORY BAILEY (Norwood, MA/Xaverian), who
was a former standout player for the Rams from 1994-97.
The Greyhounds will play at Southern
Connecticut State University Friday at 7 p.m. in a crucial
Northeast-10 Conference game. The Owls are 2-2 overall
however 2-0 in the conference.
Canney in his march through the Greyhound
record book has now caught 198 passes for 2,470 yards and 18
touchdowns (tied the record today co-held by Eric
Mauer, 1997-00).
The Rams started quickly driving 67 yards in
four plays. Sophomore quarterback BLAKE
WAYNE (Concord, CA/De La Salle) (16-for-27 for 117 yards)
connected on back-to-back plays for 23 and 39 yards to senior wide
receiver JASON CALDWELL (Baltimore, MD/St.
Paul’s (Wyoming Seminary) (6 receptions, 35 yards).
Senior running back XAVIER MARTIN (Staten Island,
NY/Xaverian) finished the drive with two carries including a
one-yard plunge for the touchdown. Sophomore placekicker
PATRICK MURRAY (Mahwah, NJ/Don Bosco Prep) kicked
the conversion for a 7-0 lead with 13:55 left in the period.
Then the Greyhounds drove 63 yards in seven
plays on the ensuing series to tie it 7-7. Kupec completed
five straight passes for 50 yards including a 36-yarder on the
first play to Nichols and to then a second to Canney for seven
yards and the score on the final play. Nowak kicked the
conversion.
The Greyhounds would take the lead 14-7
completing a 90-yard 18-play drive in an amazing 11:13. They
converted three third downs in the march as Kupec found Canney for
17 yards, rushed four yards for another and then found Canney for
another 15 yards. Senior running back LANCE
MITCHELL (Boynton Beach, FL/Pope John Paul II) slanted off
right tackle for the score and Nowak made the conversion.
Fordham came back to make it 14-10 with Murray
kicking a 46-yard field goal to cap a nine-play, 44-yard drive with
9:46 left in the half. Nowak then kicked a 24-yard field goal
for the Greyhounds finishing off a 16-play, 74-yard drive with 6:35
left in the half. Caldwell rambled 27 yards on a reverse to
tie the game 17-17 (with Murray’s conversion) with just over
two minutes left in the half.
The second half began with the Greyhounds doing
what they do best---controlling the football for 9:28 in a 16-play,
58-yard march finished off with a Nowak 22-yard field goal for a
20-17 advantage.
Fordham came back to retake the lead, 24-20,
driving 72 yards in 16 plays. Martin scored the touchdown on
a one-yard plunge and Murray kicked the conversion.
The go-ahead score for the Greyhounds capped a
12-play, 69-yard drive. Kupec completed nine-of-11 passes in
the series including an 18 yarder to Canney and a 12-yarder to
sophomore wide receiver PAUL PEREZ (Brooklyn,
NY/Xaverian, NY).
On the ensing series Wayne completed a
fourth-down pass to Martin however Greyhound cornerback DAN
CONRAD (Holden, MA/Saint Peter Marian) made a big stop
giving his team the ball at the Fordham 46.
After two first downs . . . an 11-yard scamper
by Mitchell and a Kupec to-Nichols pass for 10 yards . . . the
Hounds settled for a 34-yard field goal by Nowak with 25 seconds
left.
Martin then returned the kickoff 31 yards to
the Assumption 47 and then Wayne completed a 22-yard pass to
Caldwell to make things interesting. The game ended with a
Wayne pass flying over the outstretched hands of senior tight end
STEPHEN SKELTON (El Paso, TX/Burges) in the back
of the end zone.
GREYHOUND NOTES: the
Greyhounds had a 26-15 advantage in first downs including 15 via
the pass . . . there were no turnovers in the game . . . the Hounds
who have punted just five times all season had one . . . the Hounds
held a incredible team-record 43:39-16:21 advantage in time of
possession . . . they converted 3-for-3 fourth-down situations and
scored in all six of their red zone opportunities . . . junior
placekicker BRIAN NOWAK (Wayland, MA/Wayland) has
now made 15-of-15 conversion kicks and seven-of-eight field goal
attempts . . . and averages 41.5 yards per punt . . . senior wide
receiver DAVID CANNEY (Templeton, MA/Narragansett)
has 45 receptions for 504 yards and three touchdowns this season .
. . senior running back HERBERT WOODARD
(Salem, NJ/Salem), who played sparingly and had 11 carries to
become the first Hound over 600 attempts for his career (601) . . .
he needs 55 yards for 3,000 yards in his career . . .
senior/captain/lineback ETHAN MAXFIELD (Newport,
NH/Newport) led the Hounds with 2-5--7 tackles . . . senior
quarterback ANDREW KUPEC (Wyckoff, NJ/Indian
Hills) has now gone a team-record 169 consecutive passes without
interception (dating back to last year) . . .
